Tooth Eruption

• Click here to watch our Tooth Eruption Animation

The twenty baby teeth are already forming before birth. A baby’s front four teeth usually erupt first, typically at about six to eight months of age, although some children don’t have their first tooth until twelve months old. The rest of the twenty baby teeth appear in pairs along the sides of the jaw until the child is about three years old. The pace and order to their eruption varies.

The first permanent teeth begin to erupt at about age five to six and include molars behind the back baby teeth along with lower central incisors. Some permanent teeth replace baby teeth and some don’t. This process will continue until approximately age fourteen.

Don’t worry if some teeth are a few months early or late as all children have different eruption patterns.